Biking with my dog

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molotov_birddogs
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Biking with my dog

Post by molotov_birddogs » Thu Jul 07, 2022 4:37 pm

So I was thinking of going biking with my dog. Anything I should know?

He heels really well, the only thing is he's reactive and I don't want him to lung at any dogs or people. Should he heel with the bike or forge ahead?

Steve007
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Re: Biking with my dog

Post by Steve007 » Thu Jul 07, 2022 5:31 pm

Good theory, but before you get carried away (possibly literally), I would do some research other than on a gun dog board. There are people who do this for fun, and there are attachments to your bike which will reduce the possibility of both of you getting killed. Look up the various biking dog springs that are specifically designed for this very purpose. Read the comments and find a board of people that do this. Here is a link to an attachment with a good reputation, but again, while this certainly has possibilities (depending on the temperature in your area and what kind of shape his paws are in), I would do further research on this before jumping in.

https://www.amazon.com/Springer-Dog-Exe ... B0017NM4OE

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Garrison
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Re: Biking with my dog

Post by Garrison » Thu Jul 07, 2022 8:25 pm

I do it all the time. Unless you are a major klutz, it’s really no big deal after the dog figures out the program, which does not take long. Been at it more than a dozen years without incident, many times with multiple well muscled dogs. Although I have taken my fair share of spills trail riding alone.🤷🏻‍♂️ We have some class mountain bike trails used by factory teams in the neighborhood.

The Springer set up would be a no go for me. I want the dog leaning into the harness at a slow trot in front of the bike. The Springer is for a dog that jogs next to the bike on a loose lead, it has a quick disconnect and would be useless for roading, and for my purpose much more dangerous for me and the dog. Think yuppie at the beach, not a practical bird dog workout.

I use a roading harness with one of my old boat bungee dock lines. They can be cheaply had on Amazon with a clip and provide a perfect amount of shock absorption for the dog. I connect it to the bike frame so both hands are on the handle bars and brakes at all times. We head down the street to a dirt/gravel road and take it slow. After they get into their gait you can lesson the tension on the brakes and their brains fall into autopilot. For turning I give them a command and whoa them to a stop. Dogs are pretty darn smart and become a reliable draft animal in short order.

Everyone who fears for their life when this topic comes up, has visions of runaway bikes or running over their dog if they suddenly stop or bolt. It just doesn’t happen if you take it real slow, stay in control and run a proper roading pace. Plenty of rabbits for them to try to go after here and we nip that in the bud pretty quickly too. One caveat to all the above, I have a fairly well equipped mountain bike with disc brakes.

I have two water bottles on the bike and have a route where I can fill them up with a ranch owner’s hose. It is pretty easy to overheat a dog in these parts, so I wet them down before we go with a hose and keep it to early morning or in the evening work. As soon as we get back to the house, they go straight to the water trough to jump in and cool off. They get as excited to see their harness as a shotgun or collar. Good times for me and the dogs.

Garrison

Bungee Dock Line 2 Pack- (4ft & 6ft) PW ... /d/fTH4Utd

fishvik
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Re: Biking with my dog

Post by fishvik » Fri Jul 08, 2022 7:49 am

Traffic is the biggest hazard. I used to free run my dogs on county farm roads. I made sure they would come on command. I also made sure there were canals the dogs go into to cool down. They usually ran ahead a short ways. One time I had a flat about 2 miles in and lost track of the dog. She was so programed that she completed the circuit with out me and met me as I was walking the bike back home.

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Dakotazeb
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Re: Biking with my dog

Post by Dakotazeb » Fri Jul 08, 2022 11:08 am

I ran my dogs for several years with my bike. Dogs were well trained to run beside, or in front me on a 6' leash. I only had one incident where I went down but didn't get hurt. That was until a couple of years ago when I had two accidents where I went down and the second one was quite bad. I ended up going head first over the handle bars and face first unto the pavement. My helmet saved me from more serious damage but I still took the skin off my nose and chin. I would always keep a very loose grip on the leash so that if the dog did pull I could let go. But on that fateful day my dog did an immediate stop to take a crap. Caught me by surprise and apparently the leash got wrapped around the handle bar. Cranked the handle bar to the left and I was face first in the street before I knew what happened. I haven't done it since. So, can you run your dogs with your bike? Yes, just be very careful and alert.

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Garrison
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Re: Biking with my dog

Post by Garrison » Fri Jul 08, 2022 11:56 am

Dakotazeb wrote:
Fri Jul 08, 2022 11:08 am
I ran my dogs for several years with my bike. Dogs were well trained to run beside, or in front me on a 6' leash. I only had one incident where I went down but didn't get hurt. That was until a couple of years ago when I had two accidents where I went down and the second one was quite bad. I ended up going head first over the handle bars and face first unto the pavement. My helmet saved me from more serious damage but I still took the skin off my nose and chin. I would always keep a very loose grip on the leash so that if the dog did pull I could let go. But on that fateful day my dog did an immediate stop to take a crap. Caught me by surprise and apparently the leash got wrapped around the handle bar. Cranked the handle bar to the left and I was face first in the street before I knew what happened. I haven't done it since. So, can you run your dogs with your bike? Yes, just be very careful and alert.
Ouch! I tried leash in the hand at full sprint once with my uncles 70lb lab when I was a kid. That didn’t work out so well for me either. Turns out handle bars have some leverage, I didn’t come completely unglued, but it was enough to not do it again.

Garrison

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gonehuntin'
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Re: Biking with my dog

Post by gonehuntin' » Sun Jul 10, 2022 2:54 pm

I will only free run a dog next to my bike. No leashes I’m holding, nothing attached to the bike. Been there done that, won’t do again.

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Dakotazeb
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Re: Biking with my dog

Post by Dakotazeb » Sun Jul 10, 2022 3:06 pm

gonehuntin' wrote:
Sun Jul 10, 2022 2:54 pm
I will only free run a dog next to my bike. No leashes I’m holding, nothing attached to the bike. Been there done that, won’t do again.
Smart man! 😁

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